Friction shock absorber for railway car trucks



March 2, 1954 A, E; DENTLERl 2,670,949

FRICTION SHOCK ABSORBER FOR RAILWAY CAR TRUCKS Filed June 20, 1952 3 Sheets-Shee l .l l?" LAI IIEMH f /5 /6/ ,l 17/ J1j l l Zw/Ven or:

rno Ellen ler.

March 2, 1954 A. E. DENTLER FRICTION SHOCK ABSORBER FOR RAILWAY CAR TRUCKS Filed June 20, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheei 2 March 2, 1954 AQ E. DENTLER FRICTION SHOCK ABSORBER FOR RAILWAY CAR TRUCKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 20, 1952 InVen/[pr: .Hrn0ZdE.Den/Ze1l Patented Mar. 2, 1.954

26750949 Far-orion siro imsoajesa son aanwas CAR TRUCKS ArnoldI E.- Dentler; Western Illgra'ssignor to" WAI. Miner, luci, Ghicago, 111.', `a: corpora-tion lof Delaware Application .irieza 1952, Sensus. amati)- (C1. 2st-i9) L1*(llairn. 1 This'Ailivention relates to improvements riit tiii Shock absorber-s1 employed iili railway .car trucks'. Y

Vne object of nie invention is to provide a Simple and eieient absorber 'including lead Supporting" sp1 gs' is' "particularly adapted for use in connection with .railway -oar trucks. and wmonpr'vides light clampennig:ae-v ton for thelcar tru-e pporting springs 'to take re of slight vibrations; and provides irrational' resistance fr darieiiingltlie actionof thetruek ef'viel Iijgiats. object of the invention is kto providey aA shock absorber or the character ind-'1f'- cated corri-pr gi relatively movable frio-tion members' having sliding .rrictionai Contact tnt-h each other',` helical coilis'priirgsyeiding'ly `oppiosing rela'- e approaxfh of. said ..menib'ersY 'and rubber cushioning' .rneaiis underk compression for forcing the friction members against each other, wherein V.preliminary ligh'taction is' provided-followed by heavier frictional resistance as the compressionincreases, the light action Abeing eifected by the compression of thejs-prings without' rel-a. tive movement ofthe friction members, and the heavier actionA being produced by relative-movenierit of said friction members opposed 'by the springs, 'and wherein the yri'iloler cushioning means'- `is arranged to dampen tielightpreliminary V'spring action andtliujs eliminate'eiicessive vibrations of the springs ordinarily encountered while cushioning light impacts delivered to the same.

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of my improved shock absorber.

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional View, corresponding substantially to the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a part top plan view and Dart horizontal sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 3--3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, illustrating the shock absorber applied to the truck of a railway car.

Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 are broken views similar to Figure 1, showing the left hand end portion of the shock absorber and illustrating the manner of assembling the same.

In Figure 4 of the drawings, which illustrates my improved shock absorber applied to a railway 2 oartrucia mfinziicates'oneof tnesideiframe memsbers ofthetruclr. The side framezmember itis the form of e; ciastmgfandhasirtne usualvtop and bottomrmembers, connected by verticali seca tions, the bottomxin mberbeing indicatedbym and the sfide' Asec'tioi'ifsby -yr2`---I2l, theftopv not' being shown. The si e sections :I sI-"z-iform guides for theusilalftfuc ltex-.which @ii-mie cated by I3.. Asr4 will -lbe understood-by those skilledn art, the two. side 'frame' members Ill--io and une truck: bolsieffrf, which has its oppositeend's guidon betvvsentlie vertical sections r2-L12' or the" frame supported by' my' improved snozillabsorber stead of' the .usual arrangement ottrirclszspiinga My improved- :snoc bsoriber as'illustratect the drawings com" 'visesbrdlSf-a A.; afrit-L non B, two n tionsho "-G;rbur'iielib`aliy coiled springslDL-Di-Di-D and two rubb'erapads *ril-e ine ,cfa rectangular boxlilze structure open at top andgnawing: .la horizontal bottom wall I4, Vertical side :Walls fI-`5,qafd- 'vertical end Wal-ls. Sw-'I'Hf lIl'ie end walls:` SQ-iiare provided withntini lacrime tal top nan-ges vl 1&1 1.,A oveiang tbe-'rnd tion sli es Ue-'Cffas- 'sri arid `4Yir`8 inclu n-iotibn caps-is also of canine, ojgeiiA fait *l'fl'ieffba'ttil,`l al lioiiiliit'-lV t@ Wall I8, and depending vertical side and end walls I9-I9 and Ztl-20. The friction cap fits freely within the opening of the casing A and is vertically movable with respect to the latter.

The friction cap B is yieldingly ported in the casing A by the helically coiled springs D--D-D-D, which correspond to the usual truck springs. The springs D have their top and bottom ends bearing respectively on the underneath side of the Wall I8 of the cap B and the top side of the `bottom Wall I4 of the casing A. Centering bosses 2 I-2I for the springs D are preferably provided on the wall I8 of the cap B and the wall I4 of the casing A.

The friction shoes C-C are arranged at opposite ends of the casing A between the end Walls 20--20 of the cap B and the end Walls IAS- I6 of the casing A. Each shoe C has a iiat vertically disposed friction surface 22 on its inner side which engages a ilat vertical friction surface 23 provided on the outer side of the corresponding end Wall 20 of the cap B. At the upper end, each shoe C has the inner side beveled off, as indicated at 24, to facilitate assembling of the mechanism. On the outer side, each shoe has relatively shallow Supy top and bottom anges 25 and 26, as seen in Figures 1 and 4 to 8 inclusive. As shown, the shoes C-C are of lesser height than the vertical dimensions of the casing between the bottom wall I4 and the nanges I'I, thus providing a certain amount of clearance at the top and bottom ends of the shoes.

The rubber pads E-L-E are interposed between the shoes C-C and the end walls IS-I of the casing A. Each of the pads E is in the form of an elongated mat or strip vulcanized to the corresponding shoe C. These rubber pads are under compression between the shoes C and the walls I6 of the casing and press the shoes into tight frictional contact with the friction surfaces 23 of the friction cap B. As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the pads E are shorter in height than the shoes C and are located at the upper ends of the latter.

The cap B and the casing A are connected by a retainer bolt 27 having its opposite ends engaged in inwardly projecting, hollow bosses 28 and 29 on the wall I8 of the cap B and the wall I4;of the casing A. The head of the bolt, which is indicated by 30, and the nut, which is indicated by SI, have shouldered engagement with the bosses 29 and 28, respectively, to limit vertical separation of the casing A and the cap B and hold the shock absorber assembled.

In assembling the shock absorber, the shoes C-C with the pads E-E attached thereto are rst inserted within the casing A and positioned at opposite ends of the same, as illustrated in Figure 5. The springs D-D-D-D are then placed in position within the casing. Next the cap B is placed over the springs D-D-D-D and forced into the casing between the shoes C-C, as shown in Figure 6, and then depressed to the position shown in Figure 7. After the pressure is removed, the springs return the parts to the positions shown in Figure 8. The retainer bolt 2'I is then applied to connect the cap B and the casing A and limit vertical separation of these members.

In the normal positions of the parts of the shock absorber, when arranged within the side frame Il) of the car, with the truck bolster I3 supported thereon, the upper and lower ends of the shoes C--C are spaced from the bottom wall I4 and the anges I'I of the casing A, as shown in Figure 4, whereby under slight impacts the 4 shoes C-C are movable up and down to a limited extent without frictional opposition, being resisted only by the action of the rubber pads E and the springs D. This takes care of vibrations due to light impacts, the rubber pads acting to dampen the action of the springs, thus materially reducing the frequency of the vibrations.` Under heavier impacts, that is, upon greater movement of the friction cap B with respect to the casing A, the clearance between the ends of the shoes C-C and the stops formed by the bottom wall I4 and the flanges II of the casing A is taken up, and further movement of the shoes with respect to the casing arrested, thereby forcing the cap B to slide on the shoes to produce high frictional resistance to snub or dampen the action of the springs D under heavier impacts.

I claim:

In a friction shock absorber, the combination with a casing having a bottom Wall and spaced vertical end walls; of inturned stop flanges on said end walls at the upper ends thereof; friotion shoes at opposite ends of said casing, said shoes having their opposite ends spaced from said bottom wall and stop flanges, respectively, and adapted to engage therewith to arrest movement of said shoes with respect to the casing after a predetermined compression of the mechanism less than the full compression stroke thereof; a friction cap slidingly engaged between said shoes for movement in a vertical path, said cap and shoes having cooperating friction surfaces; springs within the casing yieldingly supporting said cap; and rubber pads within said casing, said pads being interposed between said shoes and the end walls of the casing, said pads being vulcanized to said shoes and being under lateral compression between said shoes and casing end walls.

ARNOLD E. DENTLER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,265,392 Olander Dec. 9, 1941 2,277,263 Tucker Mar. 24, 1942 2,295,554 Cottrell Sept. 15, 1942 2,295,556 Flesch Sept. 15, 1942 2,357,264 Light Aug. 29, 1944 2,370,107 Light et al Feb. 20, 1945 

